In November there is a proposition on the Texas elections. Proposition 4 is to Prohibit state income tax in Texas.
It’s a confusing ballot. A “YES” vote means that you want to prohibit income taxes. A “no” vote means you want to allow Texas to tax personal income.
People who don’t read the proposition could easily be confused and think they are voting for or against the tax, when in reality it’s reversed.
Related, Denton County has some curious notions what my house is worth thus my property tax has gone up markedly in the decade I’ve lived in my house.
Well when the primary source of income is property taxes, the people whose salary depends on said income are obviously going to try to maximize it.
It’s worth noting that this is for the amendment to the Texas Constitution. Voting for it. From what I read it will prohibit for state taxes in the future.
Well if they do away with property tax and sales tax then sure, but that’s not going to happen.
I don’t mind taxes, but I do mind being taxed at all levels.
I personally would rather be taxed on what I spend, not what I make.
There’s always going to be taxes - or something like it.
Like European VAT taxes? Would probably help savings rates go up too
About 15 years ago, David was on his 2nd interview with a company in Denver. My task was to spreadsheet the heck out of what would be an acceptable salary. We’d learned the hard way that a raise isn’t necessarily a raise if cost of living is higher and/or benefits package is lean. Thanks to the internet, could look at houses and discover property tax and income tax rates.
Imagine my surprise to learn that our tax burden in CO would be the same as in TX.
CO property tax + CO income tax = TX property tax
What this meant was that if we experienced an income loss, we wouldn’t be on the hook for a big tax bill.
Unlike in TX, where that big property tax bill doesn’t give a darn that you lost your job or you retired or your husband died.
I had an economics course in my graduate studies where the well published professor said that the only fair tax is a sales tax. It encourages saving, it taxes at a proportional rate for everyone since we all have to buy something and it is collected at the time of the sale.
Every government needs to tax so it can provide goods and services, but it is a proven fact that populations will relocate to avoid a too high tax rate.
I think is some states you pay local, state and federal taxes which when combined can equate to almost half of your income. I believe that the max federal rate + state and local tax rate in NY is over 49%. (NYC adds a 3.86% local income tax).
Include payroll taxes and it is well over 50%
It depends on how much property you own. If you own horses, property tax becomes a bigger issue. If you retire and still own horses, even more so.
I did a similar calculation when we moved from Alabama. AL has both income and property taxes, albeit at 1/4 the TX rate.
Similar salary/compensation, similar (actually somewhat smaller in TX) land amounts. Taxes went up 25%. Cost of Living in general was estimated at 15% higher, but owning acres of land skewed that even worse.
You’re right. I used to own a profitable software development consulting business in Dallas. Dallas City actually came and inventoried our equipment and assessed us a tax.
I asked how do you put a value on Software? They said we don’t. We just inventory real property like equipment, desks and chairs etc. I showed them the “auction” prices we paid for most of it. They used that as fair market value. It was a fraction of the new price they originally wanted to use.
I wouldn’t live or own a business in Dallas proper.
It’s related to the real estate market right now. Property tax is based on estimated value, and when you have a crapload of California companies moving here and brining folks with them. The construction industry has been focused on higher end new homes instead of starter homes, so then you inflate the current prices in the market. That trickles down into tax valuations. I think in the last 3 years the “value” of my house as gone up about 100k (38% ish) and you bet Denton has increased my tax by the max of 10% each year until it levels out.
My thoughts were that I can choose to live in a more economical house & pay less taxes overall vs if its income, it is the full income that is taxed.
My sister-inlaw asked why we choose to live where we live now. She pointed I could live on the other side of the tracks (higher priced housing). I choose to have more disposable income should something happen to me, it would be easier for the financial gap to be closed. I do have a pretty dangerous job, given this day in age, I like to have backup plans
The only one I abhor is a tax on staple food items. That is nothing more than a wretched tax on the poor with a profound effect on children.
I would be interested in higher sales taxes for lower property taxes but I think that’s a tough sell with too many special interests being opposed to that in TX.
I believe there are a lot of generous loopholes available to large property owners, e.g. commercial large endeavors, that are not available to your average homeowner, and property taxes are far from equitable as a result. Those who can afford the legal bills and lobbyists have a vested interest in the status quo.
Same here, and we’ve only been in our current house 5 years. It got so bad I actually hired a service to dispute my value, like show up and argue in person, and I was able to get it reduced.
Did you try disputing in person. Take pictures of broken things and you can get it reduced yourself every year.